Flying to the St Mungo's Hospital 4 Magical Malady
by halfdelita
Summary: Hogwarts teachers go and pay their respects to fallen Aurors, Neville's Parents.


The Trip to St Mungo's Hospital For Magical Maladies

The whomping willow reached out and caught hold of the Renault/Lambogini hybrid that Harry had animated from the Dudley's to fly them to visit Neville's parents, who were wracked out of their minds by the Crucius Curse and had lost their sanity. Curly-haired Hermonie stood up and screamed, while freckled faced Ron tugged at her sleeve insisting that she calm down. The willow gave the Muggle car a good spanking on its rear fender, denting both sides of the licence plate before releasing it with a mighty wallop and sending it on its way, shooting forward over the pine trees towards its destination. It passed by the stout Mu trees and the whiskery Rong trees, each of which loomed tall and majestic - cute animals played in the shade of the former, while starstruck lovers threw their wishes written on smidgeons of paper wrapped around a small stone onto the latter - but none as violently alive as the willow tree.

The willow was the symbol of the grounds of Hogwarts, marking the terriorty like no other compounds - just like the invisible Threstals which pulled the first years from the station through the gates and over the murky moat to the crumbling hulking castle to be Sorted, and the Moaning Myrtle who haunted the toilets of the grounds, and the Room of Requirement, and the stalking Mr Flitch and the sneaky Miss Nora, and Peeves the Poltergeist and the elaborately framed paintings of Fat Ladys and Thin Colonels over Houserooms entrances, and Nearly Headless Nick and Quidditch were. Heck, even the Mischievous Weasly brothers who had 'graduated' from Vomitting and Diahorrea Lunchboxes to selling Sophisticated Joke Stuff at Diagon Alley were a feature. The stinky swamp they left behind was roped off and visited by first years, who were regaled by Prefects of stories of how they set off the greatest indoor fireworks display ever - of prismatic dragons, firewheels, sparkling rockets and how the so-called-high inquisitor from the Ministry of Magic was chased off, underwear on fire. So were the giant spider Shelobb, the astrology masters - the hairy-chested centaurs, the purple goat-snake-lion chimeras and who knew what else Hagrid handled in the forbidden forest.

The hybrid car was a comfy 7 seater, but sizable McGongal was putting considerable pressure on the rear suspension. Severus Snape, the thin, cane-like Potions teacher who wore the Draco family's signature oiled hair, looked irritably at Hermonie, while Miss Flitwick peered anxiously into the mist, as if searching out some signs of what to say to the poor boy's parents. Harry spectualted and came to the conclusion that Snape and Flitwick were diamaterically opposite as opposite could be to each other as black and white could be. Snape had ties with the pure blooded Malfoy wizarding family, suspected to be Death Eaters, conspirators with the Dreaded Dementors from Azkaban, while Flitwick looked like she had no ties to anything at all, not even her own sypnases in her mind. Snape spoke, "Oh for Goodness Sakes Miss Granger if you can't control your emotions then stay at home!"

Ron Weasly finally managed to get the high-strung Hermonie to sit, and she abrubtly fell backwards, into his lap. Both blushed, and Hermonie hurriedly got off and straightened her robes, folding her hands primly in her lap. Moody cackled delightedly and rolled his false eye to show his approval at the antics of the young 'uns. Harry then peered anxiously at Neville, who simply sat by the window, hands clenched in fists so hard his knuckles turned white, face stony and blank. Sprout was sorrowfully prodding a mandrake root in a broken pot cusped in the palm of her left hand, curiously, hopefully, as if her green finger would work a miracle when dragon dung, the most expensive form of fertiliser had failed to. Hedwig hooted mournfully from the outside as the snowy owl struggled to keep up with the fast flying car.

After a brief silence, McGongall elbowed Snape "Oh don't be such a stick-in-the-mud fusspot! Let the children be." Severus looked pained for a moment, then simply glared. She then turned to Neville, "I heard you've been doing a wonderous job looking after Dumbledore's Army when Harry was trying to fight He-who-must-not-be-named. You'll make a good Herbology teacher... someday..." She looked wistful for a moment and her eyes misted up, turning, she said to Harry "You take good care of Hermonie hear? She loves you heart and soul, and you got no business trying to sacrifice yourself like your mother did to protect you. Think of how many nights she would spend crying if you had succeeded." She clucked her tongue disapprovingly and tried to hide her feelings behind a mask of imperturble authority.

Mad-eye, noticing Hermonie's eyes misting over and Harry squirming in extreme discomfort, snapped his fingers at McGongall and loudly said, "You're a fine one to talk! Why I remember when you were my student the antics you got up to with your girl friends during Hogsmead simpering over the Diggeroys..." It was McGongal's turn to blush. Moody idly formed an 'o' with his index finger and thumb, and flicked at the mandrake baby, making it scream and Sprout to cradle it protectively away from him to her cushy chest.

Everyone was quiet on the rest of the journey, except for the constant mournful hoot hoot hooting of Hedwig from outside...


End file.
